Casing structure for air-heating furnaces



Aug. 14, 1951 R. E. DEMING 2,563,801

CASING STRUCTURE FOR AIR HEATING FURNACES Filed June 14, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR fioz j; flew/07 Aug. 14, 1951 E.-DE MING 2,563,801

CASING STRUCTURE FOR AIR HEATING FURNACES Filed June 14, 1946 V 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 a? l L D 7 3: 7

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Ray 2". flew/fly Aug. 14, 1951 R. E. DEMING 2,553,801

CASING STRUCTURE FOR AIR HEATING FURNACES Filed June 14, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR R 01 [1117077017 A TTORIVEY Aug. 14, 1951 E. DEMING 2,553,801

CASING STRUCTURE FOR AIR HEATING FURNACES Filed June 14, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 IN VEN TOR BYQAMQX Patented Aug. 14, 1951 CASING STRUCTURE FOR AIR-HEATING FURNACES Roy E. Deming, Kalamazoo, Mich., assignor to Kalamazoo Stove & Furnace 00., Kalamazoo,

Mich.

Application June 14, 1946, Serial No. 676,689

' 9 Claims. 1

This invention relates to improvements in casing structure for air heating furnaces.

The principal objects of this invention are:

First, to provide a furnace of sheet metal construction having a high heat transfer capacity.

Second, to provide a furnace of sheet metal construction which may be made in a variety of sizes with a minimum number of changes in the dies and machinery for manufacturing the furnace.

Third, to provide a furnace in which the hot air chamber is effectively sealed from the combustion chamber.

Fourth, to provide a furnace which may be easily assembled by persons not skilled in the sheet metal workers art.

Fifth, to provide novel and efficient means for sealing the casing of a furnace to the front of the furnace.

Other objects relating to details and economies of the invention will be apparent from a consideration of the following description. The drawings, of which there are four sheets, illustrate a preferred form of the invention applied to two sizes of furnaces.

Fig. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view through the furnace on a line corresponding to line l-l of Fig. 4.

Fig. 2 is an exploded elevational view of the various elements composing the body of the furnace.

Fig. 3 is a front elevational view of the front plate of the furnace with the radiator associated therewith.

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view partially broken away, taken along the line 4-4 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view on a line corresponding to line 5-5 in Figs. 4 and 6.

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view on a line corresponding to the line 66 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view partially broken away, on a line corresponding to the line 1-1 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary view similar to Fig. '7 showing the details of the connection between the combustion chamber and the furnace casing.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary view similar to Fig. 6 showing the principles of the invention as applied to a larger furnace than that shown in Fig. 6.

In the drawings the reference character I indicates a body member forming the combustion chamber of the furnace. The body member is connected to an annular radiator 2 by means of the combustion chamber.

a flue assembly generally indicated at 3, and the radiator is, provided with a smoke collar 4 and a clean-out collar 5. The body and radiator are enclosed in a casing 6 on top of which is mounted hot air chamber 1 arranged to be connected to the hot air fines of a house at the flanged openings 8. A front member 9 is positioned in the casing 6 and defines a charging door opening l0 and an ash door opening H. The body I is partially lined with refractory material l2 and suitable fire grates are provided as shown at I3. I

More particularly the body member I is formed as a partial cylindrical member provided with front extension plates or flanges I4 which extend forwardly in spaced parallel relationship. Their upper ends are cut off" or terminate below the top of the body member. A top extension plate I5 is welded along the top edges of the plates 14 and a body collar plate I6 is welded to the top extension plate and the edges of the body member above the front extension plates I4. The collar plate is flanged rearwardly to have a butt joint with the edges of the body member. A dome-shaped head I! is provided with depending flanges 18 arranged to fit telescopically within the top of the body member and body collar plate and is welded thereto to close the top of A horizontal feed plate I9 is positioned between the front extension plates l4 opposite the lower edge of the charging door I0 and the furnace front member 9 is secured to the front extension plates I l in a manner which will be described more fully presently.

The body collar plate l6 defines an oval shaped flue 20 Within which the inner end of the body collar 2| is secured by a continuous weld 22 therearound. The body collar is provided with an out-turned flange 23 arranged to mate with the flange 24 on radiator collar 25 and be secured thereto by the bolts 26. A cylindrical sleeve 21 is positioned telescopically within the body collar 21 and secured thereto by a continuous weld 28. The sleeve 2! projects outwardly from the body collar into the radiator collar and serves as a temporary support for the radiator while the radiator is being adjusted and the bolts 26 installed.

The radiator 2 consists of an inner annular member 29 and an outer annular member 30 which are of opposed channel-shaped cross-section with out-turned flanges 3| along the edges thereof. The flanges 3'! are secured to each other by a continuous submerged welding process to form an annular radiator chamber. The outer radiator member 30 defines an aperture in which the clean-out collar is welded and an opposite aperture within which the smoke collar 4 is welded. I

Opposite the clean-out collar 5 the inner ring 29 of the radiator is provided with an inwardly stamped or embossed portion 32. The embossed portion terminates in a cylindrical surface 33 which is of smaller diameter than the inside diameter of the inner member 29 of the radiator and defines an aperture through which the end of the radiator collar extends. The joint between the collar 25 and the embossedp'ortionis welded completely around the coil-eras at 33'. By use of the embossed portion 32 various sizes of radiators may be used in combination with the" same radiator collar and collar assembly Attention is invited to Figs. 6 and 9 which lllustrate the manner in which the small diameter radiator illustrated in Fig. 6 and the large diameter radiator illustrated in Fig. 9 will be connected to thesame collar member. It will be noted that the embossed portion 32 shown in Fig. 9 is considerably larger than the corresponding portion in Fig, 6 since the-greater diameter of the radiator member in Fig. 9 requires that more of the inner wall of the radiator be drawn inwardly to reach the cylindrical surface 33. The collar as sembly 3 and body collar plate 15 are also adapted to be used with various sizes of body members as is visible in Figs. 6 and 9, which show that the forwardly extending flanges 34 of the body members l are spaced an equal distance apart regardless of the size of the body member I. Thus in the smaller furnace illustrated in Fig. 6, the flange 34 will be relatively long in order to reach'the collar plate It, while in the larger furnace shown in Fig. 9 the flange 3 d will be relatively short. (Slaims covering the construction of the radiator and its connections to the body of the furnace are presented in my co-pending application, Serial No. 678,102, filed June 20, 1946, for Hot Air Furnace Radiator, which application is now abandomed.- v

Considering now the connection between the body of the furnace and the outer or hot air casing thereof, it will be noted from Figs. 2, '7 and 8 that the front 9 is provided with inwardly extending side flanges 35 to which are welded a series of threaded studs 36. The insides of the flanges 35 are secured to the forward edges of the front extension plates It by a continuous weld 3? (see Fig. 8) and side extension members 38 are secured to the front member by means of nuts on the studs 36. The side extension members 38 are provided with inwardly extending flanges ilswhich are provided with an offset por-- tion arranged to'fclear the base of the studs 36 and still contact the front member as at M and the front body extension as at 42. The members 38 thus, provide a double seal between the interior of the furnace casing and the exterior thereof.

The side extension members 38 are curved outwarclly away from the furnace front and terminate in a return seam flange 33 which is of for- Wardly opening channel shaped cross section. The flange 43 is arranged to interlock with an inturned seam flange on the forward edge oft'he casingwall panel '6. It is contemplated that the side extensions 6 and casing members 38 willbe preformed with theiianges 43 and M therein so that the casing membersmay be installed by'relati'vely unskilled workmen merely by sliding the casing member down the flange on the extension member or springing them together.

The top of the front member 9 is also provided with a series of studs 45 arranged to receive the upper front extension member 46 to complete the closure around the front member 9. The upper front extension 46 is formed to have a mitre fit with the side extension members 38 and has ears 4'! formed thereon for joining the extension memhere together. An upper flange 48 on the upper extension member is formed along an arc of equal diameter to the diameter of the casing of the furnace and is arranged to fit telescopically within A the uppermember l of the furnace casing.

A plate 58 is secured in a vertical position on the back of the furnace body I and provided with a pair of bolts 5! extending through slots in a bracket 52. The bracket 52 may thus be adjusted vertically and is arranged to engage the flange 3| to support the rear portion of the annular radiator 2 as is most clearly illustrated in Fig. l. A suitable fire door 53 and ash door i i are provided for closing the openings in the furnace front member 9.

From the above description it should be apparent that the body of the furnace and the radiato'rare effectively sealed to form a combustion chamber which cannot leak smoke or gases into the jacket of the furnace. The sheet steel material in the body gives the furnace a very high heat transfer capacity and the sliding connection between the front extension member and the furnace casing makes the furnace easy to install.

The invention has been illustrated and described in a highly practical commercial embodiment thereof. No attempt has been made to show further adaptations, as it is believed that this disclosure will enable those skilled in the art to adapt the invention as may be desired.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a hot air furnace, the combination with a-front member having inturned marginal flanges I on its vertical edges, said flanges having threaded fastener elements fixedly secured thereto, a casing wall member having joint flanges at its edges, said joint flanges being parallel to and laterally spacedfrom said marginal flanges on said front member, and inwardly facing channel-shaped side extension members bridging the space between said joint flanges and said body member and having joint flanges on their laterally outer arms in interlocking engagement with the joint flanges on said casin wall member, the laterally inner arms of said side extension members being lapped upon the inturned flanges of said front member and receiving said threaded fastener elements, and nuts on said threaded fastener elements securing said side extensionmem-bers to said front member.

' .2. In a hot air furnace, the combination with a front body member having laterally projecting threaded fastener elements secured to its outer side edges, a casing wall unit having joint flangesati ts edges, said joint flanges bein parallel to and laterally spaced from said outer sides edgesof said front body member, and channel-shaped side extension members bridging the space between said joint flanges and said body member and having joint flanges on their laterally outer arms in interlocking engagement with the join flanges on said casin wall mem benthe other arms of said casing front mem her being lapped upon the sides of saidfront frame to engage said threaded fastener elements, and nuts on said threaded fastener elements securing said side extension members to said front member and thereby supporting said casing wall member.

3. In a hot air furnace, the combination with a front body member having laterally projecting fastener elements secured to its outer side edges, a casing wall unit having an inturned joint flange on its front edge, said joint flange being parallel to and laterally spaced from one of said outer said edges of said front member, and a channel-shaped side extension member bridging the space between said joint flange and said front member and having a joint flange on its laterally outer arm in engagement with said joint flange on said casing Wall member, the other arms of saidcasing front member being engaged with said fastener elements on said front body member.

4. In a hot air furnace, the combination of forwardly extending front extension plates, a front member having inturned flanges on its vertical edges welded to said front extension plates, said flanges having threaded fastener elements fixedly secured thereto, a casin wall member having inturned joint flanges at its edges, and inwardly facing channel-shaped side extension members having out-turned joint flanges on their outer arms in interlockin en gagement with th joint flanges on said casing wall member, the inner arms of said side extension members being lapped upon the inturned flanges of said front member and receiving said threaded fastener elements, and nuts on said threaded fastener elements securing and sealing said side extension members to said front member and said front extension plates.

5. In a hot air furnace, the combination of forwardly extending front extension plates, a front body member connected between said front extension plates and having laterally projecting threaded fastener elements secured to its outer side edges, a casing wall unit having inturned joint flanges at its edges, said joint flanges being parallel to and laterally spaced from said outer side edges of said front body member, and channel-shaped side extension members bridging the space between said joint flanges and said body member and having joint portions on their laterally outer arms in interlocking engagement with the joint flanges on said casing wall member, the other arms of said side extension members being lapped upon the sides of said front member to engage said threaded fastener elements, and nuts on said threaded fastener elements securin and sealing said side extension members to said front member and said front extension plates, and thereby supporting said casing wall member.

6. In a hot air furnace, the combination of forwardly extending front extension plates, a front member having laterally projecting threaded fastener elements, a casing wall unit having inturned joint flanges at its edges, channelshaped side extension members having joint members on their outer arms in interlocking engagement with the joint flanges on said casing wall member, the other arms of said side extension members being lapped upon the sides of said front member to engage said threaded fastener elements, and nuts on said threaded fas tener elements sealing said side extension members to said front member and said extension plates, and a top extension member secured to the top of said front member and the upper ends of said side extension member.

7. A furnace comprising a cylindrical body member having spaced parallel front extension plates extending from the front thereof, a top extension plate Welded between said parallel plates at the top thereof, a front member having inwardly turned flanges along the top and sides thereof welded to said top extension plate and said parallel plates, studs welded to said flanges, side extension members arranged to fit over said studs on the sides ofsaid front member, a top extension member arranged to fit over the studs on the top of said front member, said extension members having interlocking edges arranged to receive the ends of the furnace casing members.

8. In combination with a furnace having forwardly extended plates on the body thereof and casing members for enclosing said body, a front member welded to said plates, studs welded to said front member, side extension members removably secured to said studs and engagin said front member and said plates, said extension members having an offset portion bridging the base of said studs, and an interlocking flange on the opposite edges thereof for engagement with said casing members.

9. A furnace comprising a partial cylindrical body portion terminating in spaced parallel plates extendin from the front thereof, a top extension plate welded between said parallel plates at the top thereof, a body collar plate having rearwardly extending flanges and welded to said top extension plate and the edges of said cylindrical portion above said top plate, a cover for said body member, a front member having inwardly turned flanges along the top and sides thereof welded to said top extension plate and said parallel plates, studs welded to said flanges, side extension members defining apertures arranged to fit over said studs on the sides of said front member, a top extension member arranged to fit over the studs on the top of said front member, said extension members having interlockin edges arranged to receive the ends of the furnace casing members.

ROY E. DEIVHNG.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,183,449 Grout May 16, 1916 1,369,434 Howes Feb. 22, 1921 1,379,051 Seemann May 24, 1921 1,412,989 Wood Apr. 18, 1922 1,487,809 Runnicn Mar. 25, 1924 1,699,319 Wagstaif Jan. 15, 1929 1, 8, 64 Harter Nov. 29, 1929 1,844,453 Watson Feb. 9, 1932 2,170,085 Lengyel Aug- 2 1 

